Processing facilities are often managed using industrial control and automation systems. Example processing facilities include chemical, pharmaceutical, paper, and petrochemical production plants. Among other operations, industrial control and automation systems typically interact with and control industrial equipment in the processing facilities, such as equipment used to produce chemical, pharmaceutical, paper, or petrochemical products.
Industrial control and automation systems routinely include wired components and wireless components. For example, an industrial control and automation system could include a wireless network of sensors that provides data to a wired controller. Due to the unreliable nature of wireless communications, redundant connectivity and redundant message routing systems have been proposed. However, such systems are often difficult to integrate with wireless sensor networks and are often even more difficult to integrate with existing industrial control and automation systems.